The next few weeks on ww.andrewinereview.ca will be dedicated to profiling the wineries I had the opportunity to visit on my summer road trip. I travelled through the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia and down to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Over the course of 9 days I tasted over two hundred wines. My biggest take-away from this trip is that it’s still too damned hard to get wines from out of province that are not offered at the LCBO. I will delve into that in future posts.
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to The Hatch. This BC winery is located in West Kelowna, and the people who run this winery are out to make a statement. All you need to know is being said on their wine called “Hatchchild” with a picture of a sheep on the bottle.
Visiting the Hatch also introduced me to extended hours (Woo Hoo!). This winery is open from 10-8pm every day in the summer. These extended hours enlightened me to a problem I didn’t realize existed… Why don’t we have these extended hours in Ontario?
Should you make your way out to the Hatch here are a few wines you should consider tasting.
2014 Black Swift Riesling – $24.99 – ****+ – This is a solid bone-dry riesling. The aromas are driven by mineral layered over lemon and lime. The flavours match the nose with the citrus flavours staying front and center on the palate. The acidity is bright and crisp finishing clean.
2014 Gobsmacked White ‘Cyclops Love’ – $19.99 – **** – This is a blend of roussanne, riesling, gewurztraminer, viognier, and chardonnay … I think, taking a look at the website it would seem even the people at The Hatch aren’t too sure what made it in the final blend. Frankly, the percentages in the bottle are not important. This wine is the definition of a perfect patio sipper. The solid acid backbone of this wine lets you know that it’s here to pair with you fish fry or grilled chicken. This wine has got hints of baking spice, apples and just a hint of wildflower both on the nose and in the glass. The labels on the Gobsmacked line are drawn by children of the Hatch.
2015 Muscat – **** – $21.99 – Another perfect patio sipper. This is a wine that will make a great match to all kinds of spicy food. I know with floral wines you will tend to find Sushi or Thai food specifically but the floral qualities of this wine lean more towards wildflower and away from rose petal. So try this with Jambalaya, Chili, Hot Wings, Indian Curries … if it’s got heat bring it on. The fruit is grapefruit, melon and apples with perfectly balanced acidity. This tastes bone dry on the palate.
2015 Gobsmacked Gruner Veltliner – **** – $24.99 – This is mineral driven, which is exactly what you would expect from gruner. The nose and flavours are dusty and dry. Once you do get into the glass you have an orchard of apples, that has been surrounded by gravel and it’s raining. This wine is refreshing and food friendly thanks to great acidity.
2013 Black Swift Chardonnay ‘The Long Road’ – ****+ – $34.99 – The nose offers up wood smoke to the point it’s almost charred, but it doesn’t drown out the apple, peach and pineapple pushing their way through. This is very soft and delicate on the palate. You will find apples and peach with hints of baking spice poking through. The way this mouth tastes is so much more delicate than the way it aggressively climbs out of the glass.
2014 Cabernet Franc ‘Hobo Series’ – ****+ – $24.99 – This is definitely not Niagara Cab Franc, the nose brings very ripe blackberry, strawberry and raspberry to the party. On the palate this wine is highly concentrated and very rich. This brings a bit of a warm climate character to the party. But, this wine is anything but overcooked the finish brings hints of savory and spice. On the website for the Hatch they call this wine Hobo because it hasn’t really found a home. Cabernet Franc is an important part in the assemblage of some of the finest wines in the world but it is often overlooked. I think it’s safe to say that Franc belongs at home north of the 49th Parallel whether it’s in Ontario or BC.
2014 Screaming Frenzy – ****+ – $24.99 – This is a blend of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot. The nose is ripe and rich Raspberry, Strawberry and Blueberry with hints of pencil shaving. This wine is a friggin’ steal at less than twenty five bucks. This is a little slice of Bordeaux right in our own back yard, and it’s a fraction of the price of most. It’s silky smooth on the finish and drinks dangerously easy. So that brings you to the following conundrum… do you age this wine for 5-10 years or do you drink it immediately… There is no wrong answer to this question.
2012 Hatchchild – ****+ – $33.33 – It takes some balls to compare yourself to the Grand Cru vineyards in Bordeaux, so if you’re going to make a statement you better make sure you’ve got your game face on. This wine called Hatchchild and features a sheep on the bottle. Everything about this wine is done tongue in cheek, until you open the bottle. This is a very serious wine indeed. The nose is a little funky, but the photo comes into focus as earth moves to black currant, vanilla and wood smoke. The flavours are deep cherry, blackberry, black currant, raspberry with a satisfying smokiness to the finish.
2014 Black Swift Syrah ‘The Long Road’ – ****1/2 – $49.99 – The nose is a little barn yard, but it doesn’t take long for black currant and freshly cracked pepper to climb out of the glass. The intense black currant takes over your whole mouth and it has brought some friends. You will get raspberry and cocoa and when the party in your mouth is finished you have a nice hit of pepper that lingers. This is fantastic!
2013 Black Swift Cabernet Franc ‘Desert Valley’ – ****1/2 – $54.99 – This wine requires a bit of patience. It’s not ready yet. And if you are impatient I hope you have a decanter or a few hours to wait. The tannin is grippy and tight and it will take over your whole mouth. Once the wine does decide to open up you get raspberry, strawberry, and cherry. There is a savory edge to this wine but it’s spearmint! and it’s a refreshing way to envelope the fruit in this wine. This will age 7-15 years in a cellar.
